Pantherettes Dance Their Way to Nationals

It was a night of good dancing and good desserts on Friday as the Pantherette Alumnae Booster Club (PABC) organized a send-off for the Mehlville dance squad. The Pantherettes leave for the National Dance Alliance Dance Team Championships in Orlando, FL on March 10. 

More than 230 people showed up according to Coach Sarah Roth. The PABC is a new organization and the Dance and Dessert night was their first event. President Julie Morrison thought the event was a success and is hopeful for the future. 

"It will get bigger and better," she said. "Next year, we'd like to get local businesses involved. I'm so surprised at the number of alumni who have come out of the woodwork."

Pantherette alumnae baked desserts and organized silent auction baskets for the attendees and the dance squad performed several solo performances and their two routines for the national competition. 

The road to Nationals has not been easy. The team has been fundraising since the season started and practice for eight hours a week, sometimes spending 10 hours in the gym on Sundays. 

The girls will fly to Florida March 10 and compete on Saturday in the hip hop and jazz categories. They will be judged on their technique, synchonization and showmanship as well as costuming and overall audience effect. 

The squad has a reason to believe they will do well, according to Roth. They placed first at the Sugar Bear Regional Competition in Sprinfield. Although they did not get the placing they had hoped for at the state competition at Francis Howell Central, the girls have been working hard to perfect their routines. 

If they perform well in Florida, the girls will move on to the finals on Sunday and learn their placing that night. 

"I'm so excited for the competition," Roth said. "The girls have been working extremely hard."